Lost & Found
by JinxedCobra
Summary: Lauren had some problems; the world had lost it's mind, her family was gone, and she was suddenly responsible for a three year old boy. Life was tough... in Zombieland. Starts out pre-movie.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Buck or the other Zombieland canon characters, however, Lauren and her family are my creations.

**Chapter One**

Turning the doorknob, Lauren nudged the door open with her foot and cautiously stepped into the house, the barrel of her hunting rifle leading her progress. Other than the loud banging at the back door and windows, it was eerily silent and she swallowed convulsively.

"Emily?" She called out as she slowly made her way through the front entryway, scanning each room and then moving on. "Grace? Kyle? Anyone here?" _Please Lord,_ she prayed silently, _let them be okay._

As she cleared the kitchen, she glanced at the windows and shivered, noting the small crowd of people clamoring to get in. Using the term _very_ loosely.

Ignoring them, she backed toward the front of the house and moved to make her way up the stairs. Ascending to the second floor slowly and cautiously, Lauren started with the bedroom on the right.

Taking care to check the closet and under the bed, she noted that it looked like her sister hastily packed. Rising hope was tempered with worry as she moved to the left side of the hall and moved through Kyle's office, which was oddly untouched. Then again, he probably wasn't worried about work in the middle of this shit storm.

Heart clenching, she moved to Grace's room and again saw the signs of someone's haphazard packing. Checking under the bed, she got back up and moved toward the closet.

The slight movement of the door made her freeze and she exhaled slowly, hooking her foot on the edge and pulled it open. Quickly, she aimed the rifle into the closet and slightly tightened her finger on the trigger reflexively.

A soft whimper had her lowering her weapon and Lauren found herself looking at a little boy, curled into a ball in the corner of the closet.

"Easy little man." Crouching down, she laid the gun on the floor and reached out to gently touch him on the shoulder. "I won't hurt you." Peeking up over his knees, tear filled blue eyes met green eyes and after a long moment, he lurched to his feet.

Small arms wrapped around her shoulders as he pressed his face to her neck and she wrapped her arms around him, easily taking on the weight of the small boy.

"I know I shouldna left, but they got in and Daddy was gone and I was scared and…" Making a shushing sound, Lauren pulled back and brushed a strand of blond hair away from his face.

"Hey, hey, hey. You did the right thing, it was dangerous there and you're safe now." She soothed, pulling him into another hug as she waited for him to calm down. Not that they had long.

The sound of glass breaking alerted Lauren to trouble and she automatically grabbed her gun, reaching over to shut the bedroom door.

"Get to the window." The boy quickly did as ordered, albeit shakily, and she moved to the heavy oak dresser in the room. With some straining, she shoved it toward the door, effectively blocking it and then joined him at the window.

Assured the dresser would keep those… _things_ from getting in, she opened the window and carefully felt under the outside sill for the rope ladder she knew would be there. _Thank the Lord for sneaky ten year olds._

Several loud thuds downstairs rang in her ears as she laid the gun down on the roof and unfastened the buttoned straps keeping the ladder in place. Slipping through the window, she reached back to grab the boy and pulled him onto the roof.

The sound of snarling let her know that there were still some of those things in the back yard and she turned to the boy, raising a finger to her lips.

"I'll go down the ladder first and then I need you to follow me." Staring back at her with wide eyes, he shook his head and she put her hands on his shoulders. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you, but you need to work with me, alright?"

Lauren could feel him trembling, but he nodded and she took his hand, leading him to the edge of the roof.

Gun in hand, she carefully backed down the first few steps and then beckoned him to follow her. Moving to the ladder, he looked at her fearfully.

"Y' won't let me fall?" Shaking her head, she smiled reassuringly.

"I swear it." Nodding, he finally backed onto the first step and she caught his foot when he nearly missed the rung, her other hand clutching both the ladder and the gun.

Their descent was slow, as she struggled to keep them both from falling and from losing her grip on her gun. He would occasionally miss a rung and she would have to redirect his foot back onto it, giving up precious seconds.

Lauren's last step to the ground was accompanied by the sound of something hitting the metal fence gate and a terrified wail. Lifting the boy off the ladder, she set him down on the ground and grabbed her gun from where she had set it against the house.

They were already climbing over the fence and she aimed at the nearest one, pulling the trigger.

"Stay behind me." She said tersely as it fell off the fence and felt a small hand grab her shirt as he obeyed her. Backing toward the front yard, she kept herself between the boy and the monsters, picking them off as they went.

"Alright buddy, can you see the big black truck in the driveway?" She asked, shooting Grace's softball coach in the forehead and an affirmative whimper was his answer. "Do you think you can get to it without getting caught?"

"Yeah." Yeah, no, maybe. Lord, she hoped he was right.

"When I say 'go', run as fast as you can to the truck, climb into the backseat and lay down on the floor. Got that?"

There was a crash the ones inside broke through the front door and spilled out onto the front porch, forcing her to turn her attention to them.

The ones from the back yard had dwindled, making it easier to start on the ones coming out of the house and they backed toward the truck, Lauren firing as they went.

"Go!" She shouted, finally and felt him let go of her shirt as he dashed for the open door of the truck. Covering his escape, she kept shooting… Mr. Wilson from down the street, the lady who had given them chocolate chip cookies for Christmas… Lord, what the hell had happened?

Once she was sure he was safe inside, she followed, slamming the door shut as she put the rifle on the passenger seat and reached for the seatbelt. Turning the key already in the ignition, the engine roared to life and she shifted it into drive. Turning the wheel, she gunned it and mowed over the monsters on the front lawn.

Back on the street, she took a shaky breath, barely noticing her hands trembling on the steering wheel. Tucking a curly strand of auburn hair behind her ear, she glanced toward the back seat.

"You alright back there?" She asked, though she knew nothing was okay. "You didn't get bitten?"

"No." As they cleared the neighborhood, Lauren glanced back again and motioned for him to get up.

"Come up front, let me check." Keeping her eyes on the road as he climbed over the center console, she looked over to see him sit down and noted that his clothing was no worse for wear.

Pulling over to a quiet corner, she gently pulled up the hem of his khaki pants to check for bites and he swatted her hands away, shrinking back.

"It's alright buddy, I just want to make sure you didn't get bit."

"M' names Buck, not Buddy." Crossing his arms across his chest, he glared down at the floor.

"Hey. I didn't know that 'til now." She said firmly, settling back against her seat. "I'm just trying to help you, alright? I need to make sure you didn't get bit." Buck kept his gaze on the floor, though she could see his lower lip trembling and Lauren waiting for him to make the next move.

"Sorry." He said finally, looking up at her and she saw tear tracks on his face. "I'm scared."

"Me too, _buddy._" That earned her a small smile and she gently put a hand on his back, slightly pulling him towards her. "Look, I need to check you over, alright?" Nodding, he stood up and she gently checked him over, relieved not to see any broken skin or bite marks.

"Thank the Lord." She murmured, gently tousling his hair and he swatted her hand away again, though he was smiling. "Alright Buck, can you tell me what happened?" Sliding back down into the seat, his gaze found the ground again and he swiped at his eyes.

"Daddy said he had to go get food and he didn't want me to go outside with him." That she couldn't blame the man for, the streets were a mess and it would be too dangerous for to take a toddler out into that.

"So he left you at your house alone… how long were you by yourself?" Pulling his knees to his chest, Buck stared at the dashboard intently.

"He left when the short hand was on the one, he said he'd be back when it was on the two." Checking her watch, she noted that it was well past three o' clock and it was likely that Buck's daddy wouldn't be coming home at all.

"Where's your mommy?" She asked, gently rubbing his back and he shrugged.

"Don't have one." So he was basically all by himself. "I tried to wait for him, but the monsters broke through the door and I got scared, so I ran out the back. But they found me there…"

"So you ran to my sister's house." She finished for him, running a hand through her hair. "Was there anyone there when you got there?" Shaking his head, Buck looked up at her.

"That was your sister's house?" Nodding, Lauren leaned back against the seat and took a deep breath, closing her eyes.

"Maybe they got out." She muttered, sending up a short prayer and opened her eyes when she felt a small hand curl around two of her fingers.

"Do ya think my daddy's okay?" He asked, eyes filled with hope and she shrugged.

"I don't know." She wasn't going to say that he was, but she had her own hopes and she wasn't about to crush his. "We'll go back tonight and I'll check it out, okay?"

Smiling, he nodded and she shifted the truck back into drive, hoping they could find a place to hunker down until they could check out Buck's house.

It had been a week since Lauren had heard the first rumors of the virus, something about a man being attacked in a gas station bathroom and a college student attacking her dorm neighbor. She'd dismissed them as gossip, until that morning when she'd woken up to chaos outside her hotel room.

There was a mass pile-up on the freeway and she had seen several people getting attacked… by other people. She had called Emily's cell phone to check on her, hoping the madness hadn't spread to the small town her sisters lived in, but there was no answer.

That was when she had gotten into the truck and driven back from the city, stopping by her apartment to grab the rifle and two pistols. It was a good thing she wasn't very close to her neighbors; she couldn't be too broken up when she had to shoot the ones who tried to attack her. Disturbing? Yes, but she had other priorities.

Like getting to Nebraska; if Emily and them had survived, she knew that was where they would go.

First thing was first; getting Buck back to his daddy, _if_ he'd survived.

Loading a round into the rifle chamber, Lauren pressed her lips into a thin line. The full moon lit up the street, casting shadows where the hedges blocked its light and creating an absolutely lovely blind spot. Unfortunately, she had to walk through the possible kill zone to get to Buck's house.

Slipping extra ammo into her jacket pocket, she took a deep breath and looked over at Buck who was sitting on the edge of the backseat with the door open, watching her.

"Are you going to find my daddy?" Talk about a hard question.

"Buck, I can't tell you I'll be able to, alright?" She said, being as honest as she could and knowing the little boy was terrified of being left by himself. "But I promise to do the best that I can and if I can't find him, I promise to make sure you're never left alone." Pulling him into a hug, Lauren pressed a kiss to his forehead and then set him back on the seat.

Slamming the back door shut, she looked over the seat and saw Buck give her a thumbs up. She smiled a bit, returning the gesture and pressed the lock button on the front door.

"Stay inside and keep the doors locked." She really didn't want to see if those things could figure out car doors. "Your daddy's name is Gary, right?" They had gone over some of the important stuff earlier, but it never hurt to double check and he nodded.

Nodding, Lauren shut the door and reaching for the key chain hanging on her belt loop, pressed the lock button on the remote, just to be sure.

Taking a deep breath, she shifted the butt of the gun to her shoulder and approached the hedges, stepping into the front yard. Other than some faint snarling, it was disconcertingly quiet and while she was assured there was no imminent threat, she would have to move fast.

The front door had been reduced to splinters, barely holding itself together and she stepped through the opening warily. Just as she had done at her sister's house, she started clearing the rooms, noting that most of the furniture had been overturned and she could see broken glass where picture frames had fallen off the walls.

"Gary?" She called out, moving past the kitchen. "My name is Lauren, I found your son, Buck. He's not hurt, just scared and worried about you." There was no answer.

Swallowing hard, she caught sight of another broken door and moved toward it to see a set of stairs leading into a basement. The sound of snarling and something, probably bone, being crushed made her freeze.

_Oh God…_

Lauren didn't need to go any further to confirm what she already knew, but she found herself descending into the dark basement anyway.

A single light bulb illuminated the monster crouched over a body laying on the floor, a man. His face was too far gone to be recognizable, but she knew exactly who it was and her stomach turned as she heard a slurping noise.

It took the thing a moment to notice her, but when it looked up, she shot it between the eyes. Turning away, she heard its body fall to the floor and turning her gaze upwards, she said a quiet prayer.

Walking back through the house, she plotted out her next course of action. Buck would have to go to Nebraska with her, there was nothing left for him here and leaving him behind wasn't an option. Of course, they would be wading through a shit storm and she wasn't the most patient person when it came to kids, but she sure as hell wouldn't trust anyone else with him.

Stepping through the front, Lauren was jerked back to alertness when she heard snarling and the thud of something being hit. Of _metal_ being hit.

_Buck!_

Jumping off the front step, she ran back to the truck to see two of those things trying to break through the windows and more coming down the street, drawn by the commotion.

Taking aim, she shot the closest one, its brains splattering across the hood and reloading, she picked off the other one. Running around to the driver's side, she shot off a few more rounds and unlocked the truck, opening the door and slamming it shut in the next moment.

Slipping the keys off her belt loop, she slid the key into the ignition and turned it over, the sudden rumble of the engine only mildly comforting. Shifting it into gear, Lauren hit the gas and they sped away, escaping the small crowd.

Trembling, she aimed them toward the city limits and ignored the tears making tracks on her face.

For the first time in three years, she was truly afraid. Not of dying, but afraid for her family and of failing the small boy who was suddenly in her care. Stomach twisting, she looked for the nearest spot to pull over.

Putting the truck in park, she leaned back in her seat and ran a hand through her hair, letting her head fall back against the headrest. A soft touch on her arm had her shifting her gaze to Buck, who was standing up in the back seat and looking at her hopefully.

"Did you find my daddy?" He asked and her heart broke as she realized that she had to tell him that he would never see his daddy again. Sighing, she motioned for him to get up on the center console and shifted slightly as he climbed into the front seat.

"Buck, I…" _Oh Lord, please help me._ "Your daddy… isn't… here anymore." There was no way to soften the blow and she watched him shrink back, shaking his head.

"No." He said softly and then louder. "No! You're lying! He's not gone!" Lauren saw the small fist coming but didn't move to block it from hitting her shoulder and she pulled him into her arms, ignoring the small blows and holding him close.

Buck kept struggling, screaming and crying, almost endlessly and she cried silently, every sound of pain piercing her heart. He cried himself to sleep, but she didn't try to lay him down in the back seat.

That was the thing about fear. You could let it paralyze you or you could turn it into a weapon and survive.

* * *

**Author's Note: **For anyone following my other story, What I've Done, I'm still working on it… I just got distracted, but I'll get back to it quickly enough. I just needed to get this one out.

I've actually been wanting to do a fanfic for Zombieland, like, since I first watched the movie, but I couldn't think of anything that would make sense… until this plot bunny snuck into the house. Hope you enjoy it.


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